Four Percent Of The Population example essay topic

In today's American society, the every day lives and routines of American citizens are impacted, affected, and ruled by the government. By studying the lives of people beginning in eighteenth century France, it is easy to see how the ruling government system impacts the everyday lives and routines of it's citizens. It is also easy to compare this society to the European civilization under the rule of Napoleon I, the American civilization under the rule of Woodrow Wilson, and Adolf Hitler. During the time period of King Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette is used today to represent the turmoil a country can experience with dire rule. In eighteenth century France, the subjects of the King and Queen were divided into three classes; the peasantry, the bourgeoisie, and the clergy. The peasantry consisted of farmers born into a life of poverty.

"The difficulty is that there is not and never has been such a person as a typical French peasant; then, as now, the lot of the individual peasant depended on the kind and the amount of land which he had at his disposal, and the region in which he happened to live" (Lough 16). From region to region, the amount of land that a peasant owned varied greatly. Even though the peasants made up ninety percent of the population and owned most of the land, they had very little say in the government. This was one of the biggest problems with the French government. The middle class, also known as the bourgeoisie was the next largest group that made up the population. They were working families that made their money by liquid capital and held specific jobs such as lawyers and doctors.

Most of them were educated individuals that compiled their wealth by trade and industry. "As the wealth and power had increased, they had sent their sons into posts of state administration, magistracy, the financial system, the high clergy, and the army" (Godechot 68). To be in the highest class, one had to be born into it. This four percent of the population was known as the Noble class. The class was broken into two estates: the first estate and the second estate. They were the hierarchy of the church and well respected church officials.

The second estate made up the other three percent and included the Royal family and other wealthy families that had inherited most of their income (Lough 98-105). Although these were the richest people in the country, they were exempted from taxes and tariffs. Even more outlandish, even though these people represented only four percent of the population, they made up approximately sixty percent of the government. One of the most important factors to consider during this time period is the reign of Louis XIV. His idea of the monarchy was one of the reasons why the French government had failed and created turmoil for the citizens of France.

Louis XIV enjoyed the royal life very much and very fervently. He spent more of his reign enjoying himself and his life rather than ruling the country. He felt that as long as he was enjoying himself and having a great time, then the country was doing the same. "Louis XVI succeeded his grandfather at the age of nineteen, through the period of the reforms achieved against intense opposition, to the outbreak of the Revolution" (Cronin 74). He entered into the reign at such a young age that he was unable to handle the duties assigned to a king. His wife, Marie Antoinette, was oblivious to her surroundings.

One famous line that can show this is during the starvation period. The peasants stormed the castle in search of grain for bread and she clearly stated, "Let them eat cake". Every day life of the people was staggering. France was in a time of starvation, strikes, and confusion. As a result of a drought, the nobility's land was not exactly the best to farm. Their productivity took a huge nosedive which caused many women and wives to turn to prostitution as their means of income.

This led to a dramatic increase in the population and the desertion of the infants and children from the household. Land owners cut wages of their workers and, in some cases, sold their land for a quick increase in income. Many historians argue that most of the peasantry population were "situation in slave like conditions" (Lough 137). The division of the class system that correlated with the government and society was so obtuse that the lack of King Louis XIV attempts to rectify it led to the downfall of the French society. The climate and land conditions made it impossible for France to survive. If the class system and the government correlation was evenly distributed, then France could have lived without going through the French Revolution.

It is easy to compare the situation in France to the situation under the rule of Napoleon in 1808 during his invasion of Spain. Page 5

Bibliography

Cronin, Vincent. Louis & Antoinette. William Morrow and Company, Inc., New York, N.Y. Pages 70-89. Godechot, Jacques. France and the Atlantic Revolution. Collier-Macmillan Canada, Ltd., Toronto, Canada 1965.
Pages 64-91. Lough, John. An Introduction to Eighteenth Century France. David McKay Inc., New York 1970.